There was also a "Hanley Juniors" organization.
The "Juniors" had their own small steamer and a reel hose cart which they
pulled by hand.

The Hanley dedicated their new firehouse at 5th &
Crosby Sts. on Saturday February 19, 1949. The building was erected at a cost of
$45,000.

The following history is from the Hanley Hose
Company's 100th Anniversary Program book, February 22, 1969:

(Ed. Note: This article was based on information
obtained and researched by the Anniversary History Committee, Chairman Richard Hamilton,
Rev. Lewis Worrell and Jess L. Mason.)

During 100 years of communityservice Hanley Hose
Co. No. 1 has had countless glorious moments as the volunteer members distinguished
themselves to save lives and to protect property.

Frequently Hanley firemen suffered the pain of personal
injury and in several instances gave their lives in order to meet the responsibility of
keeping the pledge of the Hanley motto: "When Duty Calls 'Tis Ours to Obey."

Through the entire century of public service Hanley
firemen had their greatest moment in history when they traveled to Baltimore, Md. in 1904
in an act of mercy. They were called upon to help relieve exhausted firemen who were
fighting a 2-day battle against a fiery holocaust that threatened the very existence of
that port city.

Hanley firemen departed Chester on Feb. 7, 1904 when Mayor Howard H. Houston urged city firemen to assist their
beleaguered associates in Baltimore. He received an appeal from the Baltimore mayor for
assistance. Wind and cold weather turned a routine fire into a raging inferno that burned
for several days as it moved from the downtown business area to the wharves and docks.

Hanley and Felton responded to the emergency appeal. Their
equipment was loaded upon flat cars and was transported to Baltimore by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. They got aboard the special
train in Chester at about 1:15 A.M. Feb. 7 and were in action two hours later.

The initial duty placed them in pumping duty for five
hours when the Baltimore Fire Chief ordered them to Jones Falls in the lumber district of
the harbor area. The courageous Hanley firemen remained at this location for about 10
hours until Baltimore fire officials ordered them to withdraw.

If it had not been for the action of the Fire Boat
Cataract the Hanley pumper and the lives of the firemen could have been lost. The Hanley
firemen remained at their assigned post until their escape was almost impossible.

The fire erupted inside a 6-story building in the business
district. The flames reached such intensity that it ignited several nearby buildings.
Other structures burst into flames as the heat increased. The tremendous fury of the fire
caused frame buildings to explode like fireballs.

Hanley was on the Dock Street Wharf when the firemen found
they were trapped by flames from an 8-story structure. Baltimore officials ordered the
Hanley firemen out of the area for their safety. The fireboat provided a covering spray of
water to enable them to pass the flaming obstacle. Moments later the walls collapsed.
Hanley lost a section of hose. Some of the men were near blinded by failing embers and hot
ashes and others suffered burns of the flesh.

Hanley had 27 firemen go to Baltimore with the equipment
and 13 others traveled under their own power to join the company. They worked with firemen
from Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York City, and Washington, D. C.

Baxter Ladomus, Hanley's oldest living fireman in terms of
membership, was among those brave men who risked their lives in Baltimore. He joined
Hanley on July 30, 1902 and was issued Badge No. 151. He has 67 years of continuous
membership.

Hanley's local shining hour in history occurred in the
performance of duty during the infamous Jackson
Explosion. The blast that occurred on the morning of Feb. 17, 1882 claimed 16 lives
and still ranks as the city's worst fire disaster. It is interesting to note that both the
Baltimore fire and the Jackson Explosion occurred in February, the month of Hanley's
anniversary date.

Hanley and the other city fire companies spent most of the
previous night fighting a fire that destroyed the main building of Pennsylvania Military College. The firemen had hardly reached
their homes when an alarm sounded for a fire at the Porter Mansion at 2nd and Welsh
Streets.

The fire was discovered at about 7:30 A.M. in the former
mansion that had been used in the manufacture of fireworks. The company was in the process
of moving out and firemen were mistakenly informed that the supply of explosive powder had
been removed. Actually some had been removed but a quantity remained.

Chester firemen were caught flat by several explosions.
The first was minor but the second one demolished the building. Two Hanley firemen,
Anthony E. Barber and John Pollock, died. John Vandergrift, a driver of the steamer, died
of injuries later. Jefferson Pedrick was disabled for life and Ellwood Long was horribly
disfigured.

Admiral Porter commanded the U. S. Frigate Essex in the
War of 1812. He visited Chester in 1882 to present the cornerstone of the historic
building to Hanley. The cornerstone remains in Hanley's possession today and is imbedded
in the East wall of the Social Room as a permanent monument to those who died and were
injured in the Jackson Explosion.

The Porter Mansion was built in 1721 by David Lloyd and
was named Green Bank. Lloyd was the first chief justice of William Penn's Colony in the
Chester area. The original cornerstone is one of the oldest in Pennsylvania.

The fire company was formed on Feb. 22, 1869 and was
incorporated on May 24 that year. It was formed at a meeting of citizens in a cigar store
operated by John Hanley at Market Square. Blinded, Mr. Hanley was a former member of the
Northern Liberties Fire Co., of Philadelphia. He became one of the main contributors to
the company during its period of organization. The firemen named the company in his honor
as a tribute to the blind benefactor.

A carriage shop at 5th and Welsh Streets was secured as
the first fire house in November 1869. The present site was acquired in 1871 when Hanley
paid John 0. Deshong $1,000 for the ground.

The first building at 5th and Crosby Streets was
constructed in 1876 and was occupied on Christmas Day that year. The second building was
constructed in 1898 on the same site. The present building was erected on the same spot in
1949. Extensive renovations were completed this year to mark the company's 100th
anniversary.

Hanley received its first hose carriage on Feb. 22, 1869.
It and another purchased by Franklin arrived on the same
boat from Philadelphia. Firemen from both companies tried to get their equipment unloaded
first. Franklin won the boat captain's favor and their carriage rolled off first.

Franklin won the cheers of the crowd at the wharf but both
companies shared the cheers as they conducted a downtown parade. Hanley's carriage was
placed in a shed at the livery stable of historic Washington House at 5th and Market
Streets.

Hanley's first fire alarm on March 22, 1869 was a false
alarm but it gave the carriage a chance to roll. The second alarm occurred on April 6,
1869. Carriages from Hanley and Franklin collided while trying to get to a fire on 14th
Street near Upland Borough. The next fire was at Stacy's Stable, at 4th Street and Edgmont
Avenue. It ended in a water fight between the two fire companies.

The competition continued through the years and hit a high
mark in 1890 when Hanley stole Franklin's thunder during the Pennsylvania State Firemen's
Convention in Chester. Franklin made elaborate plans for the convention parade but Hanley
captured the spotlight.

Hanley negotiated to hire the 7th Regiment Band, the
nation's most outstanding military band at the time. It cost Hanley $2,000 on the barrel
head to bring the distinguished musicians to Chester. They paraded and provided a concert
and captured the front page of one local newspaper and prominent news stories in
Philadelphia newspapers.

The Hanley firemen had to mortgage the firehouse in order
to pay the band. Apparently they felt it was worth the price to top Franklin.

The spirit of competition, which often flared out of
control and resulted in skinned knuckles, blackened eyes, bloodied noses and swollen lips
years ago, has been tempered into cooperation.

Today the five fire companies in the city are united in
the Chester Fire Department for the sole purpose of providing the best possible fire
protection.

"He
was one of the original paid drivers the city hired in the last 60's
or early '70's. His name is Anthony "Jeff" Majeski and
was originally stationed at Hanley Hose. He died in 1980 at the
age of 51."

"Also as I recall my great aunt Mamie use to do the laundry
for the Hanley Hose fire department her name was Mamie Mills. She lived on 5th
street across from the orphanage.
Her maiden name was Morris, her and her sisters Lydia, Bella, Dodie, all were member of
the ladies aux."